Yesterday the Wii U turned 5 years old. And the console is all but dead thanks to the Nintendo Switch being in the market. And to make matters worse. It missed out on over 300 relevant PS3/Xbox 360 multi platform games that could have been ported to the system during its main run. But did not in the end!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmymKfwAteQ. Man, what if the Wii U was better marketed/more successful during that time period. Would we have seen a different picture in terms of third party support/game releases from the rivals on the Wii U. Would have EA been more supportive to the Wii U if things turned out better. Could have the system gotten some of the less demanding PS4/Xbox One in mind multi-platform games that had a possible chance of running on the console such as Yooka-Laylee before being canceled in favor of the Nintendo Switch. Also if Nintendo did make one of its biggest games Super Smash Bros. 2014 aka for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U a Wii U only game without a 3DS version alongside it. Would that one game have been enough to save the Wii U from being a total failure. It just shows all of the missed potential the Wii U had because of being the failure that the console was, so sad to see! Thoughts?

Honestly, I still play my Wii U almost every other day, so the console being "dead" doesn't signify much to me. The excellent 1st-party Nintendo games are there, and that's good enough. If I want to play an EA game (I don't), I have an Xbox for that.

One reason EA didn't support the Wii U is that the hardware is not robust enough to keep up with the Frostbite engine. The Wii U's CPU is weaker than those powering the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The other reason is that Nintendo marketed the console poorly, resulting in lackluster sales. You don't want to spend millions making games for consoles that lack an install base.

It was a bad idea from the beginning. Underpowered and built around a completely useless gimmick. Casual players bought the Wii because its controller simplified play and broke down a layer between the player and the game, but the Wii U's complicated interface was the exact opposite; it added a layer of separation purely to divide the player's attention. So Nintendo threw out the entire market that they'd won with the Wii, but they didn't pick up more serious players because they stayed a generation behind with the hardware. The only real market left was the Nintendo die-hards who would buy any Nintendo system to play the latest Mario or Zelda game - and that's fine, since those games are pretty good, but it doesn't change that the Wii U was overall a system for nobody. It had no missed potential. It was built to fail.

I think Nintendo though they could coast on the Wii brand, but interest in the Wii had waned by the time the Wii U came out. I can see why Nintendo went with the touch screen because tablets were huge at that time. Sadly, nobody ever really figured out how to use it effectively. The high definition was good, but Nintendo did a horrible job of marketing this thing. Did they even make an effort? Still, there were some really good games - especially first party.

On a positive note, without the Wii U we might not have the Switch. Keep in mind the ability to play Wii U games on the portable screen was one thing gamers really liked about it.

ptdebate wrote:The other reason is that Nintendo marketed the console poorly, resulting in lackluster sales. You don't want to spend millions making games for consoles that lack an install base.

While I agree that install base leads to more games leads to larger install base .... I question the impact of marketing hardware on success. I saw Nintendo have WiiU tents at places, and Game stop had systems to try and posters on the window, etc. What was lacking was a Wow launch title, coupled with numerous hardware issues.

I took my family and played WiiU Wind Waker, and investigated the console and it came up wanting as a family gaming center. The biggest issue was having one irreplaceable but vital tablet like controller without the ability to add a second. Nintendo has fixed that flaw with the matched joycons. The Zelda launch title for the Switch was the nail in the coffin for the WiiU, but it's helped Nintendo have a red letter year.

I think the Wii U has a good protype for the Switch. The whole console and portable as the same unit has been a goal for Nintendo for quite a while.

I’m actually considering a Wii U. It has quite a few games I’d like to play. Can’t say that for the Switch yet. And I had a 3DS, and while I love playing without being attached to a TV, it’s too cramped for my hands. Wii U may be just right for me.

VideoGameCritic wrote:I think Nintendo though they could coast on the Wii brand, but interest in the Wii had waned by the time the Wii U came out. I can see why Nintendo went with the touch screen because tablets were huge at that time. Sadly, nobody ever really figured out how to use it effectively. The high definition was good, but Nintendo did a horrible job of marketing this thing. Did they even make an effort? Still, there were some really good games - especially first party.

On a positive note, without the Wii U we might not have the Switch. Keep in mind the ability to play Wii U games on the portable screen was one thing gamers really liked about it.

Switch is basically the Wii U done right.

Wii U, now that the whole library is extant, is a fun system, similar to Dreamcast. And it's the best way to play Wii games, which is what I've been doing, catching up on greats like Super Mario Galaxy.

It also seems like the Wii U was an attempt to clone the successful NDS/3DS approach for consoles. The Switch indicates Nintendo is done with the dual-screen format. It would be great (for people who didn't get it) if the best Wii U-exclusive games are ported to Switch - many of the gamepad features could easily be recreated. For ex. the Joycon motion controls would serve as the interface for Mario Maker when the Switch is docked, or the tablet screen can be used.

And yeah, when the first rumors of NX leaked out, it was pretty obvious Nintendo was making a tablet gaming system. This means the Switch has a legitimate reason to be underpowered, even though it should be able to run a scaled-down version of today's AAA titles.

Rather late to the post, but one thing I am shocked that no one is mentioning is the terrible mistake of releasing Super Smash Bros. 2014 aka for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as a multi-platform 3DS/Wii U game when it should have been Wii U exclusive from day 1. Heck we lost the Ice Climbers and a few other things related with the game thanks to the 3DS version. If it was Wii U only it could have outsold Mario Kart 8 and muster around 8.5 million world wide instead of the disappointing 5.26 million we got in the end! And that one game could have single handily saved the console big time! Agree/Disagree, thoughts?